Bangladesh Bank Website Closed for Third Straight Day Amid Cyber Alert
The official website of Bangladesh Bank has been kept closed for three consecutive days as a precautionary protective measure after a cyber security risk warning was issued internationally. Although the portal is temporarily inactive, the central bank's connectivity system with commercial banks and overall financial activities remain completely normal.
Until 10:30 am on Saturday, anyone trying to enter the central bank's website was shown a maintenance-related message.
According to sources concerned, access to the site was suspended as a precautionary measure on Thursday, immediately after information about a global cyber threat was received. Work is currently under way to monitor the overall security situation and further strengthen the protective shield.
Arif Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, said the website will not be made active until complete security is ensured.
He also said no specific timeframe has yet been fixed for reopening the website. However, he confirmed that banking transactions and the interconnection system remain uninterrupted.
The international cyber scare spread mainly after major flaws were detected in PHP, a widely used programming language across the world.
The security vulnerabilities were identified using artificial intelligence technology by cyber security firms Calif and Wiz. After the government also issued a warning about this global risk, the central bank took this precautionary step to protect its own website as part of that response.
The central bank's website is generally used to publish policies, notices, statistics, and various official information. With the site closed for three straight days, those seeking that information have had to wait.
However, according to the authorities, the effect of this closure is limited to the website itself. The main systems for transactions and connectivity with commercial banks are separate and active, so there has been no disruption to banking services at the customer level.
This cyber threat incident has sent a fresh message of caution about digital security in the financial sector. The importance of checking one's own systems for vulnerabilities and keeping software updated has come to the fore again in this situation.
All eyes are now on the central bank's security verification — the spokesperson said the website will be reopened for everyone only once complete security is ensured.
